AEW superstar and current ROH Television champion Samoa Joe recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about a wide range of topics, including Joe’s thoughts on winning championships in wrestling, and how his main goal will forever be to entertain the fans. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
Says championships are nice, but his main goal is to entertain:
“It’s the same goal it’s always been for me. Championships are a hallmark of this industry, and I’ll always appreciate them and never downplay them, but my litmus test for whether I’m satisfied is based around the crowd. If we’re producing content and people are being entertained, then I’ve hit my goal. I want people to be entertained. That’s my focus. So you can hang championships on the wall or line up trophies all over your den, but this is truly measured by the enjoyment of the people who come to see you. As long as that is maintained at a high level, I’ll be happy with what I’m doing.”
How unpredictable his career has been:
“At this point, with all the twists and turns my career has taken, I can’t even say I am surprised. It’s wild to think, but nothing surprises me anymore. If you look through the various stages of my career, there were tons of things plenty of people said would never happen, yet they’ve happened in spades. Let’s put it this way: I’ve definitely stopped being upset with those who doubt. Shattering different perceptions has been really fun.”